The character development system is very similar to FFX, but dumbed down. Huge disappointment. You can buy weapons, but I've completed the game and not once bought a weapon. I found all of mine scattered in the levels.

Keep an open mind when playing this, and it's not bad. Nowhere near the best in the franchise, but still decent. Combat is fun once you get the hang of it. Basically, it's Final Fantasy with anorexia. All the fat has been trimmed, for better or for worse. For me, in many cases it's for worse. That said, it is still a good game.

I think the paradigm thing is pretty neat, and fun during battle. The skills are decent too, and you can always backtrack to kill more monsters to get more points or loot.

It's interesting though with the whole star aspect after battle. The higher you get, the rarer the loot, but the lower you get... apparently you are more likely to get fortisol and pre battle boosts like that.

I think the game's visually stunning though, even if the characters are a bit whiny. :)